remingtonsteelersfandomcom-20200214-history
Director's Cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit. 'Cut' explicitly refers to the process of film editing: the director's cut is preceded by the rough editor's cut and followed by the final cut meant for the public film release. Director's cuts generally remain unreleased to the public because, as far as film is concerned, with most film studios the director does not have a final cut privilege. The studio (whose investment is at risk) can insist on changes that they feel will make the film more likely to succeed at the box office. This sometimes means a happier ending or less ambiguity, but more often means that the film is simply shortened to provide more screenings per day. The most common form of director's cut is therefore to have extra scenes added, often making the "new" film considerably longer than the "original". Origin of the phrase Traditionally, the "director's cut" is not, by definition, the director's ideal or preferred cut. The editing process of a film is broken into three basic stages: First is the rough cut, which matches the script without any reductions. Second, the editor's cut, which is reduced from the rough cut, according to the editor's tastes. Third is the final cut, which actually gets released or broadcasted. It is often the case that a director approves of the final cut, and even prefers it to the so-called earlier "director's cut." The director's cut may include unsatisfactory takes, a preliminary soundtrack, a lack of desired pick-up shots etc, which the director wouldn't like to be shown. For example, the director's cut of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid was 122 minutes long. It was then trimmed to the final/released cut of 105 minutes. Although not complete or refined to his satisfaction, director Sam Peckinpah still preferred the director's cut, as it was more inclusive and thorough than the 105-minute cut. The restored cut, at 115 minutes, is thus not the traditional "director's cut," but is closest to the director's preferred version, as it was reconstructed based on Peckinpah's notes, and according to his style in general. In this case, the director's cut and the director's ideal preferred cut are distinctly separate versions. Considering this definition, Alien: The Director's Cut, for example, is simply a misuse of the phrase. As Ridley Scott explains in the DVD insert, the 2003 cut of Alien was created at the request of 20th Century Fox, who wanted to re-release Alien in a form that was somehow altered or enhanced. Scott agreed, and settled on making an alternative cut of the film. He describes it simply as a second version that he is also satisfied with, even though the original released cut is still his preferred version. In contrast, the director's cut of Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (which was a commercial failure in its 2005 theatrical release) is the true version of the film Scott wanted, nearly an hour longer and has been met with more critical acclaim than the original version. Inception The trend of releasing director's cuts was first introduced in the early 1980s alongside the rise of the home video industry. Video releases of director's cuts were originally created for the small but dedicated cult fan market. Two of the first films to be re-released as a director's cut were Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (first aired on the Los Angeles cable station Z Channel) and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Criticism When it was discovered that the market for alternative versions of films was substantial, the studios themselves began to promote "director's cuts" for a wide array of films, even some where the director already had final cut of the theatrical release. These were usually assembled with the addition of deleted scenes, sometimes adding as much as a half-hour to the length of the film without regard to pacing and storytelling. Such "commercial" director's cuts are seldom considered superior to the original film and in many cases, fans feel the films are diminished by the director's own ego or the studios' desire for revenue. The director's cut is often considered a mixed bag, with an equal share of supporters and detractors. Roger Ebert approves of the use of the label in unsuccessful films that had been tampered with by studio executives , such as Sergio Leone's original cut of Once Upon a Time in America, and the moderately successful theatrical version of Daredevil, which were altered by studio interference for their theatrical release. However, Ebert considers adding such material to a successful film a waste . Even Ridley Scott stated on the DVD commentary of Alien that the original theatrical release was his director's cut, and that the new version was released as a marketing ploy. Extended cuts and special editions A related concept to the "Director's Cut" is that of an extended or special edition. An example is Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. While Jackson considers the theatrical releases of those three films to be a final "director's cut" within the constraints of theatrical exhibition, the extended cuts were produced so that fans of the material could see nearly all of the scenes shot for the script to develop more of J. R. R. Tolkien's world, but which were originally cut for running time, or other reasons. New music and special effects were also added to the cuts. Opinion remains divided on which cut is superior, as supporters hail the Extended Edition as the superior cut, while detractors believe such scenes were left out for a reason. Another example is Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now Redux, which, like the original film, polarized the audience, with some fans considering the original version to be the definitive cut. In rare instances, such as Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock, and Blake Edwards' Darling Lili, scenes have been deleted instead of added, creating a shorter, more compact cut. Special editions such as George Lucas's Star Wars films, and Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, in which special effects are redone in addition to a new edit, have also caused controversy . (See '' List of changes in Star Wars re-releases and ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: The 20th Anniversary). Extended or special editions can also apply to films that have been extended for television and video against the wishes of the director, such as the TV versions of Dune (1984) and Full Moon wo Sagashite, and the DVD editions of Ridley Scott films Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, and American Gangster. More recently, a slightly different take on the re-cutting of films was seen in a 2006 revision of the 1980 film Superman II. Most releases that contain the label "director's cut" or "extended edition" include minor changes and/or scene additions not seen in a film's theatrical release, but that do not tend to greatly affect or change the plot, story or overall product. However the new version of the second Superman film (known as The Richard Donner Cut) restores as much of the original director's conception as possible, making it a considerably different picture. More than half of the footage filmed for Superman II by the originally credited director (Richard Lester) has been removed from the film and replaced with Donner footage shot during the original principal photography from 1977–1978. There are also several newly-filmed shots and many new visual effects, and Richard Donner is credited as director of the film instead of Richard Lester. Another example of this is Brian Helgeland's Payback. Notable examples of legitimate extended and director's cuts *Ridley Scott's shortened version of Alien, the 1992 "Director's Cut" and "Final Cut" versions of Blade Runner, an extended version of Legend, and the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven. **''Alien'' original: 117 min. **''Alien'' "director's" (actually alternate studio cut): 116 min. **''Blade Runner'' original: 116 min. **''Blade Runner'' director's cut (1992): 116 min. **''Blade Runner'' final cut (alternate "actual" director's cut): 117 min. **''Legend'' original: 94 min. **''Legend'' U.S. altered: 89 min. **''Legend'' director's: 114 min. **''Kingdom of Heaven'' original: 145 min. **''Kingdom of Heaven'' director's: 194 min. *Sergio Leone's director's cuts of Once Upon a Time in America, Once Upon a Time in the West, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. **''America'' U.S. altered: 139 min. **''America'' director's: 229 min. **''West'' U.S. altered: 145 min. **''West'' restored director's: 165 min. **''West'' extended: 171 min. **''Good, Bad, and Ugly'' U.S. edited: 161 min. **''Good, Bad, and Ugly'' original director's: 179 min. *Oliver Stone's director's cuts of Alexander, JFK, and Nixon **''Alexander'' original: 175 min. **''Alexander'' director's: 167 min. **''Alexander'' final cut: 214 min. **''JFK'' original: 189 min. **''JFK'' director's: 206 min. **''Nixon'' original: 192 min. **''Nixon'' director's: 212 min. *Sam Raimi's director's cut of Army of Darkness **''Army of Darkness'' original: 81 min. **''Army of Darkness'' director's: 96 min. *Francis Ford Coppola's special edition cut of Apocalypse Now, called Apocalypse Now: Redux, The Outsiders. **''Apocalypse'' original: 153 min. **''Apocalypse'' director's: 202 min. **''Outsiders'' original: 91 min. **''Outsiders'' director's: 113 min. *Britt Allcroft's director's cut of Thomas and the Magic Railroad **''Railroad'' original edited: 82 min. **''Railroad'' director's: 110 min. *Bernardo Bertolucci's director's cuts of 1900, The Last Emperor, and The Conformist. **''1900'' original: 245 min. **''1900'' director's: 315 min. **''Emperor'' original (considered director's): 160 min. **''Emperor'' extended: 219 min. **''Conformist'' original: 107 min. **''Conformist'' director's: 111 min. *Wolfgang Petersen's director's cuts of Das Boot and Troy. **''Boot'' original edited: 149 min. **''Boot'' director's: 209 min. **''Boot'' original extended miniseries: 293 min. **''Troy'' original: 163 min. **''Troy'' director's: 196 min. *David Fincher's director's cut of Zodiac and the special assembly cut of Alien 3, which is a restored version of the film edited to match the director's original intentions as close as possible. **''Zodiac'' original: 158 min. **''Zodiac'' director's: 162 min. **''Alien 3'' original: 114 min. **''Alien 3'' special assembly cut: 145 min. *Garry Marshall's director's cut of Pretty Woman. **Original: 119 min. **Director's: 125 min. *Eli Roth's director's cut of Hostel. **Original: 94 min. **Director's: 93 min. *Monte Hellman's director's cut of China 9, Liberty 37. **Original: 98 min. **Director's: 102 min. *Andrzej Żuławski's director's cuts of The Most Important Thing: Love and Possession **''Love'' original: 105 min. **''Love'' director's: 109 min. **''Possession'' original: 80 min. **''Possession'' director's: 123 min. *Giuseppe Tornatore's director's cuts of Malèna, The Legend of 1900, Cinema Paradiso, and Gunslinger Girl. **''Maléna'' original: 92 min. **''Maléna'' director's: 109 min. **''1900'' original: 120 min. **''1900'' director's: 160 min. **''Cinema'' original: 155 min. **''Cinema'' director's: 170 min. **''Gunslinger Girl'' original: 160 min. **''Gunslinger Girl'' director's: 162 min. *Michael Cimino's director's cuts of Heaven's Gate and The Sicilian. **''Heaven's'' original director's: 218 min. **''Heaven's'' altered: 149 min. **''Sicilian'' original: 115 min. **''Sicilian'' director's: 146 min. *Richard Rush's director's cut of Color of Night **''Color'' original: 121 min. **''Color'' director's: 140 min. *Paul Verhoeven's director's cuts of'' Basic Instinct, ''Hollow Man, RoboCop, and Angel Beats!' **''Basic original: 127 min. **''Basic'' director's: 128 min. **''Hollow'' original: 113 min. **''Hollow'' director's: 119 min. **''RoboCop'' original: 102 min. **''RoboCop'' director's: 103 min. **''Angel'' original: 295 min. **''Angel'' director's: 300 min. *Kevin Costner's director's cut of '' Dances with Wolves. **Original: 181 min. **Director's: 236 min. *Richard Kelly's director's cut of ''Donnie Darko. **Original: 113 min. **Director's: 133 min. *Terrence Malick's director's cuts of The New World. **New World original: 135 min. **New World director's cut: 150 min. **New World director's cut (2008): 172 min. *Sergei Bondarchuk's director's cut of '' War and Peace. **Original: 390 min. **Director's: 401 min. *James Cameron's special edition versions of ''The Abyss, Aliens, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. **''Abyss'' original: 146 min. **''Abyss'' SE: 171 min. **''Aliens'' original: 137 min. **''Aliens'' director's: 154 min. **''Terminator 2'' original: 137 min. **''Terminator 2'' director's: 152 min. *Tinto Brass's director's cut of Caligula. **Original: 210 min. ? **Director's: 102 min or 156 min. *Luc Besson's "Version Intégrale" Director's Cut of Léon. **Original: 110 min. **Director's: 133 min. *Richard Donner's version of Superman II (unique on this list, as Donner was not the credited director of Superman II, having been fired during the film's production, and replaced with Richard Lester). (see Extended cuts above) **Original: unknown, though Lester's version ran 127 min. theatrically **Director's: 115 min. *Roland Emmerich's director's cut of Stargate. **''Stargate'' original: 121 min. **''Stargate'' director's: 130 min. *George A. Romero's extended cut for the 1978 Cannes Film Festival and the shorter European cut edited by Co-Producer Dario Argento of Dawn of the Dead and the Director's Cut of Land of the Dead. **''Dawn of the Dead'' original: 127 min. **''Dawn of the Dead'' extended: 139 min. **''Dawn of the Dead'' European: 118 min. **''Land of the Dead'' original: 93 min. **''Land of the Dead'' director's: 97 min. *Nicholas Meyer's special editions of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. **''Khan'' original: 113 min. **''Khan'' director's: 116 min. **''Undiscovered'' original: 109 min. **''Undiscovered'' director's: 113 min. *Kevin Reynolds's extended cut of Waterworld, and extended DVD cut of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. **''Waterworld'' original (by Universal and Kevin Costner): 136 min. **''Waterworld'' director's: 176 min. **''Robin Hood'' original: 143 min. **''Robin Hood'' director's: 155 min. *Russell Mulcahy's longer director's cuts of Highlander and Highlander II: The Quickening. **''Highlander'' original: 116 min. **''Highlander'' director's: 120 min. **''Highlander 2'' original: 91 min. **''Highlander 2'' director's: 109 min. *Darren Lynn Bousman's extended unrated cut of Saw III. ** Theatrical: 108 min. ** Unrated: 113 min. ** Director's cut: 121 min. *Joel Coen's shortened director's cut of Blood Simple. **Original: 99 min. **Director's: 96 min. *George Lucas's extended cut and digitally enhanced versions of THX 1138 and the original Star Wars trilogy. **''THX-1138'' original: 86 min. **''THX-1138'' director's: 88 min. **''Star Wars: A New Hope'' original: 121 min. **''Star Wars: A New Hope'' director's: 125 min. **''The Empire Strikes Back'' original: 124 min. **''The Empire Strikes Back'' director's: 127 min. **''Return of the Jedi'' original: 134 min. **''Return of the Jedi'' director's: 135 min. *Steven Spielberg's extended E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and the shortened "special edition" & "collector's edition" of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. **''E.T.'' original: 115 min. **''E.T.'' director's: 120 min. **''Close Encounters'' original: 135 min. **''Close Encounters'' SE: 132 min. **''Close Encounters'' "collector's"/director's: 137 min. *Peter Jackson's director's cut of The Frighteners and the extended versions of The Lord of the Rings and King Kong. **''The Frighteners'' original: 110 min. **''The Frighteners'' director's: 122 min. **''The Fellowship of the Ring'' original: 178 min. **''The Fellowship of the Ring'' director's: 208 min. **''The Two Towers'' original: 179 min. **''The Two Towers'' director's: 223 min. **''The Return of the King'' original: 201 min. **''The Return of the King'' director's: 251 min. **''King Kong'' original: 187 min. **''King Kong'' director's: 201 min. *Miloš Forman's director's cut of Amadeus. **Original: 160 min. **Director's: 180 min. *Terry Gilliam's original version of Brazil. **Original: 143 min. **Studio altered (used for television): 93 min. **Studio/director's compromised: 132 min. **Director's: 142 min. *Mark Steven Johnson's director's cut of Daredevil. **Original: 103 min. **Director's: 133 min. *Sam Peckinpah's original Director's Cut of The Wild Bunch and Major Dundee, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid **''Wild'' original: 134 min. **''Wild'' director's: 145 min. **''Dundee'' original: 123 min. **''Dundee'' director's: 152 min. (lost) **''Garrett'' original: 106 min. **''Garrett'' director's: 115 min. *Emma Watson's director's cuts of Gunsmith Cats and Digimon Adventure 02. Gunsmith was shortened by 25 min. to remove excess profanity (notably Rally's liberal use of "motherfucker" and its variants) and graphic violence, while Digimon 02 was shortened by 30 min. in a successful bid to put the film on two IMAX reels (because she had inserted only one intermission into the film). **''Gunsmith'' original: 120 min. **''Gunsmith'' director's: 145 min. **''Digimon 02'' original: 315 min. **''Digimon 02'' director's: 345 min. *Hideaki Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki's director's cut re-edit and extended versions of the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series and films. *David Twohy's director's cut of The Chronicles of Riddick. **Original: 119 min. **Director's: 135 min. *David Lynch's director's cut of Dune (1984). This is the only Lynch film that the director has shortened himself; originally intended to be approximately 4–6 hours, but the studio balked, so he cut the 137 minute version himself for the initial theatrical release. For the broadcast premiere on U.S. network TV, the studio produced a longer cut from the unused footage, although it also removed many of the dark "Lynch-ian" moments - such as the heart-plugs sequence between Baron Harkonen and his male victim, and the original spoken intro from the three female leads (as opposed to Princess Irulan's narration for the theatrical version) - as well as altering footage to appear that even more scenes had been added - causing David Lynch to exercise his legal right to remove his name as director of this longer edition. **Original: 137 min. **Broadcast version: 190 min. **Alternate TV version (hybrid of the two earlier versions): 177 min. *Robert Wise's "Director's Edition" of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. **Original: 132 min. **Director's: 136 min. *John Waters's director's cut of Cry-Baby. **Original: 85 min. **Director's: 91 min. *Sam Raimi's director's cut of Ouran High School Host Club. **Original: 205 min. **Director's: 240 min. *Mel Gibson's re-cut edited version of The Passion of the Christ. **Original: 127 min. **Director's: 120 min. *Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber's "director's cut" of The Butterfly Effect. **Original: 113 min. **Director's: 120 min. *William Brent Bell's extended unrated cut of Stay Alive. **Original:85 min. **Director's: 101 min. *Rob Zombie's extended unrated cut of Halloween. **Original: 109 min. **Director's: 120 min. *Luchino Visconti´s European cut of Ludwig. **Original: 144 min. **Director's: 246 min. *Emir Kusturica's cut of Underground. **Original: 168 min. **Director's: 322 min. *Johan Vandewoestijne's cut of Lucker the Necropharogus. **Original: 74 min. **Director's: 68 min. *Robin Hardy's director's cut of The Wicker Man. **Original: 88 min. **Director's: 99 min. *Alex Proyas' director's cut of Dark City. **Original: 100 min. **Director's: 111 min. *Ronny Yu's director's cut of Fearless. **Original: 103 min. **Director's: 141 min. *Paul Haggis' director's cut of Crash. **Original: 112 min. **Director's: 115 min. *James Mangold's director's cut of Cop Land. **Original: 104 min. **Director's: 116 min. *Brian Helgeland's director's cut of Payback. **Original: 100 min. **Director's: 90 min. *Zack Snyder's director's and special edition cuts of Watchmen. **Original: 162 min. **Director's: 186 min. **Ultimate: 215 min. *Paul W.S. Anderson's director's cut of Kampfer. **Original: 210 min. **Director's: 278 min. *Clint Eastwood's director's cut of Futari wa Pretty Cure 3D **Original: 400 min. **Director's: 450 min. Video game director's cuts : see also international version and video game remake. : Don't mistake with Randy Solem's '''VGDC.' In video games, the term "Director's Cut" is usually used as a colloquialism to refer to an expanded version of a previously released game. Often, these expanded versions, also referred as "Complete Editions", will have supplemental additions to the gameplay or additional game modes and features outside the main portion of the game. As is the case with certain high-profile Japanese-produced games, the game designers may take the liberty to revise their product for the overseas market with additional features during the localization process. These features are later added back to the native market in a re-release of a game in what is often referred as the international version of the game. This was the case with the overseas versions of ''Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid and Rogue Galaxy, which contained additional features (such as new difficulty settings for Metal Gear Solid), resulting in re-released versions of those respective games in Japan (Metal Gear Solid: Integral, Final Fantasy VII International and Rogue Galaxy: Director's Cut). In the case of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, the American versions were released first, followed by the Japanese versions and then the European versions, with each regional release offering new content not found in the previous one. All of the added content from the Japanese and European versions of those games were included in the expanded editions titled Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Expanded editions that bear the term "Director's Cut" in their titles include Worms: The Director's Cut, Resident Evil: Director's Cut, Silent Hill 2, Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut. and Metal Slader Glory: Director's Cut (a Super Famicom remake of a visual novel game for the Famicom). Music director's cuts Director's cuts in music are rarely released. A few exceptions include Guided by Voices' 1994 album Bee Thousand, which was re-released as a three disc vinyl LP Director's cut in 2004, and Fall Out Boy's 2003 album Take This to Your Grave, which was re-released as a Director's cut in 2005 with two extra tracks.Also, there is a music video Director's Cut by Britney Spears in which the original version was never released. (Britney Spears - Womanizer (Director's Cut) Director's cut commercials In the advertisement industry it is very common that a director delivers his or her perfect version of the spot. In the most cases these special versions are never seen by the consumer, since the edits tend to be a littler longer than the On-Air versions. Mostly the spots that are really catching the consumers attention are directors cut commercials. You can also check some of them on the Directors Label" series of DVDs. For example, Michel Gondry. Music video director's cut The music video for the 2006 Academy Award-nominated song "Listen", performed by Beyoncé Knowles, received a director's cut by Diane Martel. This version of the video was later included on Knowles' B'Day Anthology Video Album (2007). Janet and Michael Jackson's "Scream" and Weezer's el Scorcho, both directed by Mark Romanek, and U2's "One", directed by Anton Corbijn, also have director's cut versions. Linkin Park also has a director's cut version for their music video ''Faint'' (which was also directed by Mark Romanek) in which one of the band members spray paints the words En Proceso on a wall. Britney Spears' music video "Gimme More" was first released as a director's cut on iTunes, with the official video was releasing 3 days later. Many other director's cut music videos contain sexual content that can't be shown on TV thus creating alternative scenes, and in some cases, alternative videos. That includes Britney Spears Music Video which it came out 2008 Womanizer for more Sexual Content. See also *Film modification External links *"Theatrical Cuts vs Director’s Cuts" Article from Filmwad.com. *"Director's Cuts: Do They Make the Cut?" Article from Frontier magazine. *"Do Filmgoers Dream of Director's Cuts?" SciFi.com article detailing the cuts of Blade Runner. Category:Film and video terminology